Nasri reveals Arsene Wenger's words inspired him to fire France to Euro 2012

The midfielder, who parted ways with the Arsenal manager this summer to move to Etihad Stadium, credits the Gunners boss for giving him the confidence to take the crucial penalty

Samir Nasri has revealed that Arsene Wenger’s words are what enabled him to score the penalty against Bosnia & Herzegovina that saw France qualify for Euro 2012 on Tuesday.

Laurent Blanc’s side were on the verge of missing out on automatic qualification as they trailed 1-0 in their crucial match at the Stade de France, until Nasri won and converted the spot-kick with 12 minutes to go.

“I thought of Arsene Wenger's words when I picked up the ball,” the Manchester City midfielder told The Sun of the manager whom he worked with at Arsenal until this summer.

“He told me last season: 'You can take revenge in person if someone fouls you'.

“Some people say you should not take a penalty if you are the player who has been brought down. But he said that's bulls***.

“And it worked perfectly for me.”

The 24-year-old admitted he felt the weight of pressure in the moments before the penalty.

“That goal was the most important I've scored. There was huge pressure,” he added.

“It would have been difficult for us to go through the play-offs.”

Bosnia must now negotiate that path instead, and will face one of Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Ireland after not being seeded for the draw.